From The Terrible Stories (1996), "memory" Summary

This short poem is a contraposition of two conflicting memories. The first is an image of the poet's mother dissolving under the dismal treatment of a shoe salesman. The mother says she doesn't remember it that way, that no salesman mistreated her. She was never furious at such treatment. She only remembers how Clifton got her first pair of "grown up" shoes. The poet is stricken by the contrast in these experiences.

From The Terrible Stories (1996), "memory" Analysis

In this poem, like most mothers, Clifton's mother does not remember a memory that is vivid to the poet, who remembers a prejudiced shoe salesman, arrogant and dismissive, and how angry it makes her feel. The mother, wishing to protect the child, will not recall that memory, so powerful to the girl. Instead...